Eric Holder on hot seat as he juggles twin scandals

Holder called the original AP story that sparked the probe 'a very, very serious leak.' | AP Photo

“Please understand I appreciate your concerns and that we do not take lightly the decision to issue subpoena for [telephone] toll records associated with members of the news media,” Cole wrote to AP President and CEO Gary Pruitt. “We strive in every case to strike the proper balance between the public’s interest in the free flow of information and the public’s interest in the protection of national security and effective enforcement of our criminal laws. We believe we have done so in this matter.”

Cole said the department adhered to the policy, which requires prosecutors “to negotiate with the media organization in advance of issuing the subpoenas unless doing so would pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation.” He did not explain how providing such notice in this case would have jeopardized the investigation.

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Cole said investigators exhausted “all other reasonable alternative investigative steps,” including more than 550 interviews and a review of “tens of thousands of documents,” before seeking the phone records.

He also disputed claims that investigators sought records spanning two months. In the letter Tuesday, he stressed that the records “cover only a portion of that two-month period.”

Holder said he was “confident” that those leading the investigation “followed all the appropriate Justice Department regulations and did things according to DOJ rules.”

Asked if the move reflected an administration policy to “go after” reporters, Holder said it did not.

“That is certainly not the policy of this administration,” Holder said. He noted that he and the administration supported a reporter’s shield proposed in Congress several years ago. Holder did not mention that the measure, which never became law, would not apply in national-security-related cases.

At the Capitol Tuesday, senators on both sides of the aisle expressed outrage that the Justice Department had obtained reporters’ phone records.

“We’ve seen the efforts of the administration to quiet the voices of their critics,” said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), a former Judiciary Committee chairman, called the AP records story a “serious, serious matter.”

“These are outrageous things,” Hatch said, in reference to the twin DOJ and IRS scandals. “You can’t be free if you’ve got government monitoring your calls.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters the IRS and DOJ issues “raise real concerns about this administration’s respect for the First Amendment.”

Some Democrats said they would be looking for answers from the administration. “I am concerned about the Justice Department’s action and the chilling effect it could have on our Fourth Estate,” said Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.), who sits on the Senate Intelligence Committee. “The Justice Department must explain its expansive and sweeping seizure of information.”

The Senate majority leader also sounded a critical note Tuesday afternoon. “I have trouble defending what the Justice Department did and going out and looking at the AP,” Reid said.

Cole, who made the decision to launch the AP probe, last grabbed the spotlight in 1995, when he was appointed special counsel to a House committee investigating then-Speaker Newt Gingrich for using tax-exempt funds for political purposes, according to his official Justice Department biography. That investigation led to a formal House reprimand of Gingrich.

Holder’s announcements came moments after White House press secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama “has confidence in the attorney general” and “his team over at the Department of Justice.”